Car parking at the Royal

If arriving by car please use the main multi-storey visitors’ car park. There is a charge for car parking which you will need to pay at the kiosk or pay machines BEFORE you return to your car.

Allow yourself plenty of time (around 60 minutes) to park and to get to your clinic or ward.

An accessible pedestrian route to the main hospital is provided on the ground floor of the visitors’ car park beside the School Of Dentistry. There is a tunnel that accesses the main hospital reception area. At the end of the tunnel corridor there are stairs and a lift that take patients and visitors up inside the main entrance of the hospital.

Charges (New Tariff was changed on 1 April 2014 to the following:

Visitor Charge Bands

RGH £ (run by CPS)

Up to 4 Hours

1.50

4-6 hours

2.50

6-24 hours

5.00

Lost Ticket per day

5.00

Free Car Parking

Free car parking is available and allocated access is located in the Trust managed car parks and not the main public car parks located at RBHSC or the Main visitors car park.

Patients with specific acute conditions, who are required to attend the hospital on a regular basis, shall, during their period of treatment be entitled to free parking on site.

Patients will be issued with a swipe card to park but must pay their original ticket in the visitors’ park before leaving or relocating to a Trust car park. This card can be used in the Trust managed car park for the duration of stay. Upon leaving/discharge the card must be returned to a ward/department member of staff. The barrier will be lifted by using the intercom when exiting the car park.

Free car parking will be issued to anyone who meets the following eligibility criteria.

Eligibility for Free Car Parking

Care Path

Application of Free Car Parking

Patient

Next of Kin/Partner

Relative

Visitor

Radiotherapy Chemotherapy

Yes

Yes if transporting patient

Yes if transporting patient

N/A

Renal dialysis

Yes

As above

As above

N/A

Critical Care/High Dependency

N/A

Yes

Discretionary

Discretionary

Trust staff will exercise discretion to apply the eligibility criteria in other situations where the duration and/or frequency of visits lead to significant charges e.g.

a patient may have a number of outpatient appointments over an extended period.

a patient may benefit from lengthy or frequent visits from relatives or friends to help with adjustment to a new environment .

a patient outside the prescribed treatment categories who has to make lengthy and/or frequent visits for treatment.

Relatives spending a great deal of time sitting with a very sick or dying relative

Parents or Guardians staying with their sick child or baby.

Husbands or partners being with their wife or partner while she is in labour.

The Hospital Travel Costs Scheme

The Hospital Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) was set up in 1988 as part of the NHS Low Income Scheme, to provide financial assistance to those patients who do not have a medical need for ambulance transport, but who require assistance with their travel costs.

Under HTCS, patients on low incomes or specific qualifying benefits or allowances are reimbursed in part or in full for fares incurred in travelling to traditionally hospital-based NHS services under the care of a consultant, if their journey meets certain criteria.

Royal Hospitals site congestion.

The Belfast Trust would like apologise if you are found to be waiting in a queue to access the car parks. We fully understand that as a result of this delay you may be concerned that you could be late or possibly miss your appointment.

In these circumstances you should proceed to your appointment location as normal. The Trust will endeavour to ensure that your delay is accommodated by allowing your appointment to proceed after you arrive.

In circumstances where your appointment may have to be re-arranged the Trust will organise another date as soon as possible. Where such circumstances arise the Belfast Trust will ensure that our records show that this is not recorded as a missed appointment.

Belfast Trust would like to assure you that we are working continuously with the private contractor to ensure that there is sufficient car parking capacity at the Royal Hospital site. Alternatively patients/visitors may wish to use public transport to travel to and from their appointments.